Monday, August 25, 2014

Churches
warned: “Tidal wave of gay theology” looming

An evangelical Christian worship singer
who has been urging churches to change their doctrine on homosexual behavior
since announcing she is a lesbian is at
the forefront of a coming tidal wave of “infiltration” of the church by
promoters of the “gay” agenda, contends evangelical attorney, evangelist and
activist Scott Lively.

Vicky Beeching

Lively, president of Abiding Truth Ministries, said that
with insiders on the offensive such as Vicky Beeching, a British-born artist
who has become popular among evangelicals in the U.S., he expects “attacks on
Christians in America like we’ve never seen before.”

He explained that after the
Stonewall riots in 1969, homosexual activists banded together to oppose every
American institution that did not fully accept and promote homosexual behavior.

The first victory was over the
American Psychiatric Association, and within 40 years, every other group had
been conquered, he said. The Boy Scouts were the latest to fall, just a year
ago.

Now, the only organization left is
the church, he said.

“All of their battle-hardened
activists and enormous resources are all directed at the church,” he said.

The problem is that church leaders
haven’t been preparing for such a fight, Lively said, and don’t really know
what the movement is about.

Beeching revealed she is a lesbian
in an interview last week with the Independent newspaper of London.

“What Jesus taught was a radical
message of welcome and inclusion and love. I feel certain God loves me just the
way I am, and I have a huge sense of calling to communicate that to young
people,” she said.

Lively, however, said Beeching
represents “the drawing back of the tide before a tsunami” and an indicator of
“how bad this is going to get.”

The case is significant because a
ruling against him would mean that an international agenda based on
anti-biblical standards could trump the U.S. Constitution’s freedom of speech
and religion.

U.S. District Judge Michael Posner
has let the case brought against Lively by an African group called Sexual
Minorities Uganda, or SMUG, proceed.

SMUG calls Lively’s speech against
homosexual behavior a “crime against humanity” in violation of “international
law.” The plaintiffs allege the Alien Tort Statute in the United States allows
them to make the charge in a U.S. court.

But Lively’s attorney, Horatio
Mihet of Liberty Counsel, says his client’s preaching is protected by the
Constitution.

“We believe SMUG’s claims are
firmly foreclosed, not only by the First Amendment right to free speech, but
also by the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Kiobel, which eliminated Alien
Tort Statute claims for events that allegedly occurred in foreign nations,” he
said.

Yet, Posner took nearly 80 pages to
say that he thought SMUG’s allegations were substantive and needed to be
adjudicated.